NO GOING BACK ON NEW ELECTRICITY TARIFF -FG

The Federal Government yesterday said there was no going back on the implementation of the planned increase of electricity tariff billed to take off tomorrow, June 1, 2012.

Speaking at an interactive session with newsmen in Abuja yesterday,

Chairman of the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) Dr Sam Amadi said implementing the new tariff that seeks to increase price by an average of 11 percent was necessary to put the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry (NESI) on the path of growth.

The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) among other stakeholders had voiced opposition to the increase, arguing that improvement in power supply should precede price hike.

However, the new tariff dubbed Multi Year Tariff Order (MYTO) II will last for a five year period; 2012 to 2015 but subject to review depending on inflationary trends, the NERC chairman said.